The controversy over student vaccinations

Vaccinations are one of the greatest achievements in all of human history when it comes to societal health and well-being, but increasing numbers of families are opting out of supposedly 'mandatory' vaccinations for their children. This of course raises dilemmas about the appropriate balance between individual liberty and social responsibility.

In a recent article, Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases and head of the vaccine institute at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, states:

We've already dropped below the level of vaccine coverage where herd immunity exists for some diseases. At some point, we're going to be forced to decide whether it is an inalienable right to catch and transmit potentially fatal infections.

There are times when individuals' philosophical or religious beliefs must give way to the common good. I think that mandatory vaccinations are one of those situations. I feel sorry for the unfortunate principal or superintendent that has to admit unvaccinated kids to school, hoping that the free ride those students get because everyone else is vaccinated is enough to prevent an outbreak of a disease that should be all but eliminated.

Blackstone's Byron Wien, Vice Chairman of Private Wealth Solutions Group, gave a speech laying out the wisdom he learned during his 80 years. Here are 15 of Wien's best life lessons, which teach us about improving our productivity, sleep, burnout avoidance, and everything in between.

Why do people quit their jobs? Surely, there are a ton of factors: money, hours, location, lack of interest, etc. For Alison McMahon, an HR specialist and the CEO of TwoFold, the biggest reason employees jump ship is that they're tired of working for lousy bosses.

By and large, she says, people are willing to put up with certain negatives as long as they enjoy who they're working for. When that's just not the case, there's no reason to stick around:

Nine times out of ten, when an employee says they're leaving for more money, it's simply not true. It's just too uncomfortable to tell the truth.

Whether that's true is certainly debatable, though it's not a stretch to say that an inconsiderate and/or incompetent boss isn't much of a leader. If you run an organization or company, your values and actions need to guide and inspire your team. When you fail to do that, you set the table for poor productivity and turnover.

McMahon offers a few suggestions for those who want to hone their leadership abilities, though it seems that these things are more innate qualities than acquired skills. For example, actually caring about your workers or not depending wholly on HR thinking they can do your job for you.

It's the nature of promotions that, inevitably, a good employee without leadership skills will get thrust into a supervisory position. McMahon says this is a chronic problem that many organizations need to avoid, or at least make the time to properly evaluate and assist with the transition.

But since they often don't, they end up with uninspired workers. And uninspired workers who don't have a reason to stay won't stick around for long.